A mum from Oxted, who founded a charity in nearby Lingfield to help people with severe epilepsy, has welcomed the launch of a new centre of excellence dedicated to tackling the condition.

Emma Williams MBE, 47, founded Matthew's Friends in 2004 in honour of her son Matthew, now 21, who began experiencing seizures when he was just nine months old.

The charity supports patients with epilepsy and brain tumours and such has been its success, Mrs Williams was last month invited to London for the opening of the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence.

Ms Williams was among patients, carers, scientists, clinicians and other charities from across the UK who gathered at the Burlington Danes Building near Hammersmith Hospital for the official launch late last month.

The centre is the fourth to be funded by the national Brain Tumour Research charity and marks the launch of a ground-breaking partnership with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Brain Tumour Research is now more than half-way towards its aim of creating a network of seven dedicated research centres across the country.

Said Ms Williams: "Epilepsy is a very common condition in brain tumour patients and we must continue to do all we can to understand more in order to improve the quality of life for those affected.”

Her son Matthew's seizures steadily got worse as he got older, despite medication. He suffered extensive brain damage as a result.

It was only when Matthew was seven he was switched on to a specialist Ketogenic Diet which within two weeks saw his seizures fall away by 90% and eight months later, he was off medication.

Ms Williams has since become a lead in the Ketogenic Diet field after seeing the effect it had on her son, reaching out across the world via the charity.

"It is also a great milestone as it signifies we are more than half-way on our journey to create seven dedicated research centres.

"This number will ensure there is a critical mass of researchers who will bring us closer to a cure. With the assistance of our supporters and member charities, we will continue to work on behalf of the 16,000 people who are diagnosed with a brain tumour each year.”